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2LP
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DYSTOPIAN 001LP
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Double LP version. Sascha Borchardt, aka Monoloc, is a dystopic atmospheres fanatic that has dedicated his life to the dancefloor from an early age. The Frankfurt-born artist's raw, yet sleek take on techno and ambient has evolved to characterize his own musical style in his productions. Monoloc's sound is a mixture between techno, dub and ambient, nurturing a tone that is driving, groovy and low-slung, but with greater emotional range. He acquires most of his inspiration from old movies and likes to work mostly with field recordings in his productions. The Untold Way is his second album, following Drift (CLR 011CD, 2012), and shows a notably matured development in the artist's style. Sascha explores the distant realms between the pillars of genres, presenting a 12 track album of techno but it proves to be uniquely different - left-field, keeping a foot in ambient, with elements outside of the dancefloor. He brings together the concept of an album written in his own language of atmospheric patterns, melodies and fragments of words and voices. Instead of functional four-to-the-floor tracks, he explores the meaning and depths of dark, melancholic music. The Untold Way starts with the ambient "Revive", slow and gentle yet apprehensive. As the listener moves through the album they catch glimpses of almost formed club tracks, in "The Untold Way", "Michigan Lights", "Gravity Growl" and "Alighting". These have remnants of a dancefloor impression, a prominent beat is there, but not much more. At other points you see Monoloc's more experimental side. "No GHSTS" featuring Tijana T evokes a resounding beat filling an empty space, with the occasional piano melody and eerie vocal. "Cloning Society" is beat-less, driven merely by a consistent bass and echoing voice. The album is interspersed with short ambient interludes, each just a few minutes long: "Lowa" and "Gently Falls", serene and reflective, give the listener time to breathe. And bringing you back to familiarity are more the dancefloor focused tracks of the album, "Momentum" and "Muted". The last track, "Ground Disorder", brings the album to a halt with an air of nostalgia. The result is a story, a history in twelve chapters that the listener is guided through like the landscapes of a gothic horror film, with a new twist on the percussion or surprising effect hidden behind every bass sound.
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CD
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DYSTOPIAN 001CD
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Sascha Borchardt, aka Monoloc, is a dystopic atmospheres fanatic that has dedicated his life to the dancefloor from an early age. The Frankfurt-born artist's raw, yet sleek take on techno and ambient has evolved to characterize his own musical style in his productions. Monoloc's sound is a mixture between techno, dub and ambient, nurturing a tone that is driving, groovy and low-slung, but with greater emotional range. He acquires most of his inspiration from old movies and likes to work mostly with field recordings in his productions. The Untold Way is his second album, following Drift (CLR 011CD, 2012), and shows a notably matured development in the artist's style. Sascha explores the distant realms between the pillars of genres, presenting a 12 track album of techno but it proves to be uniquely different - left-field, keeping a foot in ambient, with elements outside of the dancefloor. He brings together the concept of an album written in his own language of atmospheric patterns, melodies and fragments of words and voices. Instead of functional four-to-the-floor tracks, he explores the meaning and depths of dark, melancholic music. The Untold Way starts with the ambient "Revive", slow and gentle yet apprehensive. As the listener moves through the album they catch glimpses of almost formed club tracks, in "The Untold Way", "Michigan Lights", "Gravity Growl" and "Alighting". These have remnants of a dancefloor impression, a prominent beat is there, but not much more. At other points you see Monoloc's more experimental side. "No GHSTS" featuring Tijana T evokes a resounding beat filling an empty space, with the occasional piano melody and eerie vocal. "Cloning Society" is beat-less, driven merely by a consistent bass and echoing voice. The album is interspersed with short ambient interludes, each just a few minutes long: "Lowa" and "Gently Falls", serene and reflective, give the listener time to breathe. And bringing you back to familiarity are more the dancefloor focused tracks of the album, "Momentum" and "Muted". The last track, "Ground Disorder", brings the album to a halt with an air of nostalgia. The result is a story, a history in twelve chapters that the listener is guided through like the landscapes of a gothic horror film, with a new twist on the percussion or surprising effect hidden behind every bass sound.
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12"
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CLR 083EP
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Monoloc's latest effort offers a challenging mixture of various electronic music genres. Apart from the original version and the Monoloc edit which occupy the A-side, two highly-respected producers have contributed remixes to this project, making it an impressive assembly of potential A-sides. Monoloc's original version underlines the capacity of the Berlin-based producer to create unorthodox, suspenseful techno with a very personal handwriting. The remixes by Roman Lindau and Rødhåd turn this release into one of the most diversified CLR releases, ever. While Roman Lindau takes a house-oriented direction, Rødhåd explores the dark side of Monoloc's composition and delivers a haunting techno version.
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12"
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CLR 070EP
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CLR is back with an exciting EP by Monoloc. For more than a decade, Monoloc has been honing his skills in the studio and has at all times been a faithful ambassador for the complete abolition of genre-boundaries. His imaginative beat and sound-programming, as well as the ability to create dynamic and sometimes surprising arrangements, are qualities he shares with the Swedish duo Skudge who took on the duty to remix this outstanding track. Their unique remix does not only express their well-known, tasteful approach, but also their unpredictability and stylistic independence. The EP also includes a brand-new version by the man himself. While the mind-bending sound of his debut album Drift works for all kinds of occasions, the "Monoloc Edit" of "Try" almost demands to be played out loud on massive club speakers. But even in his more dancefloor-oriented productions, there is always a comforting warmth about Monoloc's sound.
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12"
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CLR 064EP
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Single from Monoloc's debut album Drift. For It's Mine, he teamed up with singer and producer Daniel Wilde, who wrote a haunting tale about possessive love and adapted it effortlessly to his well-known sophisticated techno sound. Wilde's soulful voice adds a very special atmosphere to the deep and driving track, defying all conventions. Henrik Schwarz's remix is an impressive version of this song with a unique handwriting and vibe. Features the remix, the original, and an instrumental version.
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CD
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CLR 011CD
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CLR presents Monoloc's debut album Drift. Born and raised in the heart of the blooming techno metropolis Frankfurt am Main, Monoloc is not an unknown face in the international electronic music scene anymore. Numerous releases on respected labels as well as countless of his characteristic DJ sets have gained the artist many faithful friends. His multilayered productions, which have been continuously evolving and opening up to new influences, never fail to stay true to his strong techno roots. Regarding the overall sound, Monoloc moves skillfully through sonic environments consisting of deep bass, noise, dark beats and quotes from all kinds of musical genres. Label-head Chris Liebing took an active part in the mix-down of the album, so that the tracks also had to pass the test of his critical ears. Just as usual, Brian Sanhaji, another studio neighbor and long-term CLR artist took care of the mastering of the tracks and polished them to their full splendor. The result can be enjoyed as much in the club as at home. Drift is a musically sophisticated, slow, and in spite of all the love for details, pleasantly dirty techno album. The occasional vocal tracks grant this album an atmospherically rich and diversified flow. Together with singer/songwriter Daniel Wild, three songs have been crafted for this purpose, adding a deep and soulful dimension. Each one of the tracks works independently on its own, but it is the thoughtful combination that makes this album appear as more than merely the sum of its individual parts.
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12"
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CLR 061EP
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Just as we would have expected from a restless sound scientist like Monoloc, the first single announcing his upcoming debut album on CLR is another proof of his constant evolution. Chris Liebing assisted during the mix-down of the new tracks and Brian Sanhaji took good care of the mastering. "Shame" is a groovy, atmospherically-rich piece of music, staying true to his popular minimalistic techno roots. "HH" is uncompromising, up-to-date techno, reduced to the absolutely indispensable.
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